The Caspian Sea Dispute - Report Example

Introduction This paper exhibits an insight into the international contravention encompassing the pre-eminent region adjoining the Caspian Sea. The origin of the problem dates back to the time when Soviet Union collapsed in the year 1991 and consecutive oil discoveries by the western oil companies ever since then. The oil has been discovered mainly in two countries of the region Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan. Despite the efforts of international oil corporations, much of the oil remains undiscovered or un-distilled in the region. This current and future potential of oil breakthrough has provoked concerns of the world to fetch this oil to the international markets. The interest encompassing oil extraction in Caspian region are commonly existent in several countries of the world in view of its significance to each individual country's benefit. For instance, the Caspian states regard the extraction of oil as a bonanza of future riches, potency and control. However, Caspian states are not the only ones to conceive these purviews, beside these interests are also cherished by the giant international oil companies such as BP, Amoco and Exxon etc with a view to boosting profitability. Besides, countries like United States, Russia, China, Iran and Turkey. All guided by the objective to gain maximum possible geopolitical advantages out of the region's oil exploration and exploitation. Hence, this paper sharpens the significance of this region for several interested parties and also explores the arousing international level conflicts concerning the geographic expedition and utilization of Caspian Sea's abounding oil resources. The Caspian Sea Dispute- An Overview The internal and external politics in the Caspian region have led to the enormously growing contention among several countries. The internal importance of oil reserves in the region arises in Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan, where the oil is expected to free the countries from the claws of poverty, economic backwardness and Russian influence. The other country having substantial concerns for the region is Russia, which regards the exploration of oil in the region to be severely yoked with Russian 'internal security' matters. Finally the Caspian region is of international interest because of the region's potential to have ample reserves of unexplored oil, which can shape the fortune of several countries connected with it. As Frank Viviano (1998, pA1) propounds, "The oil boom in the Caspian basin promises to alter everything in its path- to erect a new El Dorado in desert wasted, fuel the economies of US and Europe, and re-order the global economy. It will also imperil thousands of years of tradition, setting its defenders against the tide of a glittering but deeply uncertain future." The foremost problem with the Caspian Sea's oil resources is that these reserves are not distributed equally across the sea, which has inseminated conflicts among the countries bordering it on the issue of maximum access to amplest oil. The major dispute held by the countries bordering the Caspian Sea i.e., Russia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and Iran is the application of international law for the usage of Caspian resources, arguing on the treatment of Caspian as sea or lake. Brice Clagett (1998, p4) illustrate that if the Caspian is to be handled as sea, the eminent beneficiaries would be Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan, as the resources of the sea would then be utilized by each country to the extent of a specified zone off the seashore under the international law. Both Russia and Iran, who had been historically sharing the Caspian Sea reserves, do not contain sufficient oil resources within their specified limits off the seashore. Therefore, they prefer the Caspian to be treated as a lake, enabling the countries to equally share the resources beneath the sea. Besides Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and other Caspian States, the most evident interest in Caspian Sea reserves is that of the Russian. Ozden Oktav (2005, p21) illuminates that "Russia has many economic and strategic levers in the region including security measures and the ability to obstruct pipelines". Therefore, Russia wants to control the oil resources in the region to reestablish its control over the Caspian region. Iran on the other hand, strives to emerge out of the US sanctions and wants to reappear on the global economic frontline. Turkey is also driven by motives to gain profitability, potency and competency out of the regional riches. United States, with its ubiquitous military presence in oil-dominated areas of Middle East, aims and strives to control all the current and potential oil reserves of the world to retain its geopolitical power and influence. Ozden Oktav (2005, p17) says that during the year 1994-95, after having observed the Russian military power in Chechnya and the tempting oil resources of Azerbaijan drove the profound interests of United States in the Caucasus and Caspian region. The major threat as US perceives in the Caspian oil region is the Russia and Iran supremacy and domination. The oil reserves in Caspian region is likely to empower Russia and Iran both economically and politically, therefore, it is of utmost significance for United States to control the oil supply from Caspian region through military and political influence to secure its universal interests. The vivid US interests in the region have not just evoked concerns on the part of Russia and Iran, but also to some arrant outsiders such as China and Japan. Japan has evidently jumped into the dispute to marginalize Chinese influence in the region and also to establish itself as a dominating country in the Caspian region. China, on the other hand has involved itself mainly to abate its oil-dependency on Middle East countries and United States and safeguard its security interests in Xinjiang province bordering Kazakhstan (Robert Manning, 2000, p30-31). Caspian Sea-- Pipeline Politics Another dispute underlying the Caspian oil utilization is the route to transport the oil from the Sea to the world markets. As the sea is completely surrounded by different countries, there remain vested interests of bordering countries as well as international players in various route options through which the oil is to be transmitted. The states in which heavy untapped energy reserves have been discovered bear no fiscal and technical means to explore the resources to their optimum level. Hence, the Western oil corporations and Russian assistance is required to exploit the resources. The international corporations and their countries involved therein, the concerns of oil-producing countries, and the interests of competing and potent countries have conjointly enkindled a heated global economic and political platform. There have been several proposed pipelines from different countries based upon their economic and geopolitical interests. The first and most prominently proposed pipeline refers to be as the Baku-Tblisi- Ceyhan i.e., the BTC pipeline, which will pass through the Caucasus from Azerbaijan to Turkey. The pipeline is planned to carry one million barrels on daily basis. The United States is in immense favor of this pipeline, the construction of which has already started. The pipeline poses severe economic and security threats to the smooth flow of oil from Caspian region, because of high project and transportation costs, and security risks in the areas from which it is supposed to pass especially Turkey and Azerbaijan (Hansen, Sander 2003, p1-2). This pipeline evidently bypasses Russia and Iran, which is under the profound interests of United States, securing Turkey's strategic position. Robert Manning (2000, p20) notes that, "Baku-Ceyhan, as it is known, appears the least commercially competitive of several possible oil and gas pipeline schemes". Ozden Oktav (2005, pp23-24) illuminates, The U.S. policy, which has overly focused on pipelines, and specifically on efforts to ensure the construction of the Baku-Ceyhan pipeline for oil exports from Azerbaijan and Central Asia, aimed mainly at excluding Iran and at making Turkey a major actor in the region. Ozden Oktav (2005, p24) points out that upon realizing the threat of American ubiquity in several oil-dominated regions of the world, Iran also proposed a pipeline to secure its interests. This pipeline passes through Iran from Baju to the Persian Gulf, connecting Iran with the Azerbaijan through the pipeline reticulation. Robert Manning (2000, p20) illuminates that "Iran, by dint of geography, possesses the shortest, most commercially attractive access routes". Although the Iranian route is virtually the best possible option in economic terms, but it does not seem to be feasible in terms of the United States politics threatened by any enhanced Iranian intervention in the Caspian region. As Ozden Oktav (2005, p31) concludes that "the fear was that Iran would turn into a regional power, which could pose a potential military threat to Israel and compete with Turkey". Both China and Japan have made significant investments in the region: China in Kazakh oil fields and promises of building pipelines, Japan in its aid and investment in the region. Both are searching for diversity of supply Robert Manning (2000, p30). Therefore, both the countries have immense interest in the pipelines proposed to transport and export precious oil from the region, which can have a profound impact on the political future of the two countries. Russia has already got several pipelines in the region, mostly established during the Soviet era. However, the problem with the current pipelines is that these were not meant to transport heavy quantities of oil from Caspian region to the international market; rather it can carry only the amount it was established for. Hence, several countries have suggested routes for oil transportation that altogether bypass Russia. United States is among those countries strongly proposing the routes avoiding Russian boundaries to minimize Russian influence and potency in the region (Sander Hansen, 2003, p57). There are also some political and regional concerns undermining the Russian opportunity to have a pipeline within its boundaries. These issues relate to the ongoing Russia-Chechnya conflict going on for decades. In past, events have taken place where the Chechen insurgents became successful in barring the supply of Russian oil by the way of Grozny. These vulnerability to hostile activities further debilitate the Russian suggestion for the pipeline route (Sander Hansen, 2003, p57). Robert Manning (2000, p22) says that another route suggested for transportation of Caspian oil to prospective markets is the "northern route into Russia and its existing pipeline system as well as a northwest route to the Russian port of Novorossiisk for shipment to Europe through the Black Sea". Sander Hansen (2003, p59) says that the pipeline is run by the Russian company Transneft, which contains mostly the refurbished versions of the older Soviet pipelines. The Caspian Pipeline Consortium also constructed another pipeline between Tengiz in Kazakhstan and Novorossiisk. Russia also has a share in this pipeline with Kazakhstan, Oman and several oil companies. Conclusion Thus, the above discussion makes evident the underlying geopolitics underlying the Caspian oil reserves, and the exploitation and transportation of these resources. All the countries taking unfathomed interest in the oil exploration and pipeline construction are driven by the motives of their own national benefits. The dispute and tension going on in the region reflect the pre-eminence of Caspian oil to the economic, political and power matters of the concerned countries. End Notes Brice Clagett, 'Ownership of Seabed and Subsoil Resources in the Caspian Sea Under the Rule of International Law', Caspian Crossroads Magazine, 1 (3), 1998, p.4 Sander Hansen, 'Pipeline Politics; The Struggle For Control Of The Eurasian Energy Resources', The Clingendael Institute, The Hague, CIEP 02, 2003, pp.57, 59 Robert Manning, 'The Myth of the Caspian Great Game and the 'New Persian Gulf', The Brown Journal of World Affairs, 3 (2), 2000, pp.20, 30, 31 Ozden Oktav, 'American Policies Towards The Caspian Sea And The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Pipeline', 10 (1), Spring 2005, Perceptions Journal Of International Affairs, p17, 21, 23, 24, 34 Frank Viviano, 'Black Gold, Iron Rule: Caspian Nations Bank On Autocratic Regimes To Ride Out Oil Boom', San Francisco Chronicle, August 13, 1998, p.A1 pA1 is not the date, it is the page number. 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